Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, Uncle Boonmee is the latest film from acclaimed Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul. It concerns the titular Boonmee, a farmer dying of liver failure who, whilst contemplating his life during his final days, is visited by the ghosts and reincarnations of his loved ones. These include the spirit of his late wife and his missing son, who reappears at the dinner table as a red-eyed ‘Monkey Ghost’.

Although I did try, no synopsis can really do justice to a film that defies conventional narrative storytelling in such a way as Uncle Boonmee. This is a film that you experience, rather than watch. Seemingly unrelated episodes including one in which a princess finds her reflection magically transformed by a lake-dwelling catfish, may or may not be depictions of Boonmee’s ‘past lives’, and we are finally made to reach our own conclusions on much of what we see. The pacing is deliberately meditative, which only adds to the otherworldly, dream-like atmosphere, as long, drawn-out scenes detailing the mundane and everyday are punctuated with sudden appearances by monkey ghosts and talking catfish. The film ultimately blends the genres of family drama, ghost story and fantasy in a unique and captivating manner, incorporating moments of poignancy and genuine emotion and some surprising but welcome deadpan humour along the way.

Whether it leaves you feeling baffled or bewitched, you can guarantee that Uncle Boonmee is unlike any other film you will see this year. Give it a try and see if you fall for its spell.

Patrick Pilkington